A Texas woman asked a state court to allow her to get an abortion at 20 weeks, according to several reports.
The woman, Kate Cox, is set to appear in an “emergency hearing” on Thursday where her attorneys expect a ruling.
According to NPR, the petition was filed by the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR). Cox in in her second trimester of pregnancy.
"Kate Cox needs an abortion, and she needs it now,” it reads, before claiming that she needs to have an abortion to have a chance to have more children in the future (via CRR):
Ms. Cox is currently 20 weeks pregnant. Ms. Cox has two young children already, both delivered by cesarean surgery (“C-section”). Her third child has been diagnosed with full trisomy 18. After multiple screenings, ultrasounds, and diagnostic testing, Ms. Cox’s physicians have confirmed that her baby may not survive to birth and, if so, will only live for minutes, hours, or days.
The longer Ms. Cox stays pregnant, the greater the risks to her life. Ms. Cox has already been to three emergency rooms with severe cramping, diarrhea, and leaking unidentifiable fluid. If she is forced to continue this pregnancy, Ms. Cox is at a particularly high risk for gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, fetal macrosomia, post-operative infections, anesthesia complications, uterine rupture, and hysterectomy, due to her two prior C-sections and underlying health conditions. If she is forced to carry this pregnancy to term, she will likely need a third Csection. Undergoing a third C-section would make subsequent pregnancies higher risk and make it less likely that Ms. Cox would be able to carry another child in the future.
In an interview with ABC News, an attorney for CRR said that the new lawsuit is “not strategic” or in response to a separate lawsuit filed by several other women against Texas’ pro-life laws.
"She called us after the Texas Supreme Court argument, because she got the amniocentesis results, and she's been having health conditions going on right now. Whereas the other plaintiffs were talking about things that happened to them throughout the last couple of years dealing with Texas abortion bans," Marc Hearron, senior counsel at CRR, told ABC News.
Townhall previously reported how in 2021, Texas enacted legislation that banned abortions statewide after fetal heartbeat detection, which sparked legal challenges from abortion providers and advocates almost immediately. When the legal challenges made their way to the Supreme Court, the Court allowed the law to remain in effect and remanded it back to lower courts. In the first month the “heartbeat” bill was in effect, abortions in the state dropped about 60 percent, which Townhall covered.
Americans United for Life, a pro-life organization, noted that over 200 pro-life pregnancy centers exist to help women in need.
Earlier this year, in an interview with Townhall, Lila Rose, the founder and president of Live Action, praised Texas’ pro-life laws over recent years.
“Texas has been particularly innovative and bold in protecting children, and they’ve had huge impact in saving lives,” Rose said.